Data Mining: A Competitive Weapon for Banking and Retail Industries

Abstract Data mining is proving to be a valuable tool, by identifying potentially useful information from the large amounts of data collected, and enabling an organization to gain an advantage over its competitors. This article defines what data mining is and covers the operations of data mining as have been classified throughout literature. It then focuses on the important uses of data mining, which include but are not limited to marketing, risk management, fraud detection, and customer acquisition and retention. Examples of how the banking and retail industries have been effectively utilizing data mining in these areas are provided.